Touching the Clouds

I first met author Bonnie Leon when she taught a workshop on "Plotting Your Novel" at our Portland chapter of ACFW. I was so impressed with her knowledge and ability to communicate what she knew that I sent a "thank you" to this multi-published author. Within hours she replied in her sweet, humble way; and I discovered a kindred spirit in the woman behind the books.

Bonnie, like myself, was introduced to her writing career by adversity. After an auto accident, she found herself unable to return to her "normal" life and instead entered the writing world as an outlet to glorify God with her gifts and talents.

Bonnie's most recent book, Touching the Clouds is the first in her Alaskan Skies series. I've always been intrigued by Alaska and hoped to explore the beautiful 49th state on a cruise ship. However, Bonnie's vivid description of both the scenery and characters in Alaska's mid-1930's territory gave me a glimpse almost as real as being there.

In the story, Kate Evans is an adventurous and independent young woman with a pioneering spirit. When she leaves her home in Washington State to follow her dream of being an Alaskan bush pilot, she knows it will be an uphill battle. But she never expected it to be quite like this. As the lone woman in a man’s world, she finds that contending with people’s expectations is almost as treacherous as navigating the wild arctic storms. When she crosses paths with a mysterious man living alone in the forbidding wilderness, she faces a new challenge. Can Kate break through the walls he has put up around his heart? And will fear keep her from realizing her dreams?

Touching the Clouds will draw you into the characters' lives amid the stunning backdrop of the Alaskan wilds. If you're looking for an enjoyable historical novel, Bonnie's new offering is a great place to search!

A WOVEN MOMENT

It's sort of like déjà vu – but different. A woven moment occurs when events from your past converge in a single moment, weaving together an indelible new moment. Woven moments often happen during landmark events in our lives: weddings, funerals, reunions of all sorts. In the weeks and months leading up to our daughter's recent wedding, I experienced many woven moments, but one stands apart. One evening when Emily was home from college on Christmas break, we unearthed my twenty-six year-old wedding gown, broke open the sealed package, and she tried it on. Tears instantly sprang to my eyes. It was a woven moment. Memories of her dad's and my wedding bombarded me. And then I saw our little girl on her first day of kindergarten, her golden curls bouncing as she ran down the stairs with her sister. Then came those difficult teen years, rushing back in a cacophony of victory as I watched the love of Jesus now sparkle in her eyes. This new moment, forever etched in my mind, standing in my wedding gown. (A perfect fit, BTW – was I ever really that skinny?) Woven moments are most incredible because they aren't simply a one-time stitch – they're a lifetime tapestry. Less than six months later, I was blessed with another woven moment. My husband walked our daughter down a grassy aisle in her own wedding gown, a new moment added to the events that will weave into the next and next and next tapestry we share. God allows us to experience a little bit of Jacob's tapestry, Jacob‟s woven moments on his way to Bethel…

Gen. 35:1-3 – “Then God said to Jacob, 'Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.' So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.'” (emphasis added)

• Jacob is terrified that his sons' rash attack on Shechem will bring vengeance from the Canaanites – just as he feared Esau‟s vengeance 20+ years ago. Notice that Jacob addressed “his household” and “all who were with him.” He was staring into the faces of the Shechemite women and children that his sons took captive. His deceitful history and his sons‟ sins stared back at him. But he CHOSE to focus on God's promise rather than his own fear or failure. His woven moment is one of purposely, consciously remembering God's faithfulness and moving forward.

Gen. 35:4-8 – “So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth.” (emphasis added)

• Surely, in this collecting of ALL foreign gods, Rachel surrendered the household gods she had stolen from her father, Laban (Gen. 31:34). Was this the first Jacob knew of Rachel's thievery or idolatry? How would Rachel have felt about giving up the idols? Did it put a wedge between her and Jacob? Soon after arriving in Bethel, Jacob buried the woman who would have been his wet-nurse, Deborah – another strong female relationship in his life…strong enough to mention in the biblical record. Both the idols and Deborah were buried under oak trees. Though a spiritual victory for God at Shechem – overcoming idolatry – the personal turmoil for Jacob may have caused a few knots in this woven moment. Sometimes the best strategy for knot removal is simply to submit to the Master Weaver's hands and wait. Woven moments aren't always free of snags, but they can all be made beautiful by the Master.

Gen. 35:9-10 – “After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, 'Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.' So he named him Israel.”

• God reminds Jacob that he is named, “Struggles with God.” Why? My guess is: Because Jacob was struggling with God. Let's face it, life's been hard. Dinah was raped. His sons just killed and captured an entire city of innocent people. And then Jacob's mother-figure (Deborah) died. Wouldn't you be struggling with God? So in this woven moment, God calls Jacob to recall the wrestling match on the riverbank of the Jabbok. And with the memory of struggle came a renewed assurance of blessing.

Gen. 35:11-15 – “And God said to him, 'I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.' Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.”

• How many times had Jacob heard his Grandfather Abraham tell the story of God's promise and calling? How many times had Isaac told Jacob of the Land promised to his descendants? Now, the same Almighty God speaks into this woven moment, a tapestry of history with a legacy that will stretch into eternity. The newly named Israel is forever woven into the fabric of his forefathers, the Promised Land and God's story. Just as we are woven into our own stories of family, experience and God's plan.

Lord, open my eyes to more woven moments so I can appreciate the Weaver's Hand. I want to hear Your voice and feel the assurance of your direction as Jacob did. Show me the past events that weave together my current moments into the delicate future You have so carefully planned for me. I want to walk in the beauty of Your very best, Father. Only Your best.

MOTIVES OF THE HEART

Motives are tricky business. Some are quite clear from the beginning. When we were driving our mega-cross-country trip from Washington to Indiana and back again, I would often turn to my husband in near panic and say, “Honey, we need to stop at the next gas station.” He, of course, assumed my morning coffee or afternoon tea needed an escape route. By the third day of this assumption, however, he discovered that coffee and tea weren't always my motivation. Each time I stepped through those convenience store doors with a sleeve of powdered-sugar donuts, he grew more suspicious of my bladder. Once, he even tried to stop at a rest area! Heaven forbid! Their snack machines NEVER have PSD's (powdered-sugar donuts – for those of you non-experts in Dolly Madison snacks). Thus began the challenge of motives. Was my plea to pee pure or a ploy for PSD's? Now, don't poo-poo our perplexing problem. One wrong judgment of my motive, and we could have quite a poo-poo problem. Fortunately, my dear husband is gracious and patient with my tainted motives, but in Jacob's household, motives of the heart were revealed only through tragedy…

Gen. 34:13-17 – “Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, 'We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go.'” (emphasis added)

• Jacob, the man whose name meant “deceiver,” allows his sons to bargain deceitfully. The author of Genesis leaves no doubt that their motivation was deceit, and I don't think they ever intended for their wild demand to be accepted by the Shechemites. But what happens when your motivation is trickery – and then it backfires…and puts you in the tight spot instead? Where do you land spiritually after that?

Gen. 34:18-24 – “Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. 'These men are friendly toward us,' they said. 'Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us.' All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.” (emphasis added)

• From the order of events in these verses, it sounds as if Shechem rushed home from Jacob's tent, was circumcised, and then took his trophy to the city gate and said, “See fellas! It ain't so bad!” Again, the author of Genesis tells us the motivation – Shechem was DELIGHTED with Dinah. But Hamor and Shechem were motivated by something different altogether – GREED – to convince the men of Shechem to submit to circumcision (“Won't their livestock, etc.…become ours”). Don't just skim over this. Circumcision is common in our culture, but in the land of Canaan, it was a strange mutilation of manhood. Jacob must have had considerable wealth in order to persuade a whole city of men to succumb to such a delicate procedure. Greed is a powerful and insidious motivator.

Gen. 34:25-31 – “Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, 'You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.' But they replied, 'Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?'” (emphasis added)

• Known for murdering the whole town of unsuspecting Shechemite men, Simeon's and Levi's REVENGE for their full sister, Dinah (from the same mother, Leah) is legendary. But what about the other “sons of Jacob,” who went to Shechem after the killing spree to plunder the town and take captive the women and children? Are they less wicked because their deeds were motivated by GREED or LUST? And what about Jacob? He chastised only Leah's murderous sons, his only motivation seemed to be SELF-PRESERVATION – which isn't a bad thing…except when he shows no concern at all for his daughter or the dead Shechemites. Imagine if Simeon and Levi were the only ones with impure motives – imagine if Jacob's motives and those of his other sons' would have been righteous and repentant. How different could this event have been?

Lord, it is often in the fire of tragedy that all pretense is burned away and true motives come to light. Please, Father, purify my motives BEFORE the tragedy comes. Reveal where I have less than a clean heart, and by Your grace and mercy, help me to make the necessary decisions to change my heart and become a good and godly example for You on this earth.

PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE

My husband and I are perfect for each other. He's a slow starter but a diligent finisher, while I start quick but struggle to finish. You can guess the positives and negatives of such a marriage. I think he over-thinks a project before he starts, and he thinks I put the cart before the horse – starting before I know how I'll finish. One of the best examples of my cart-horse problem is our dog history. Our first dog's name was "Hondo" – a puppy we picked up at a "Free Puppies" sign when Trina was just a toddler. It was at best a whim, at worst a disaster. We really had no idea how to care for a dog, nor did we have a particularly good plan for where we would house it in our backyard. Let me just say, it didn't end well. Fast forward five years. We're older and more responsible, and I think Trina needs a puppy for her birthday. This time, we decide it should be a house-dog. No outdoor provisions necessary, right? We bopped over to the Humane Society and got a puppy. Did we consider that Roy's job was unsettled? Or the fact that puppies are expensive, and we could barely feed ourselves? Two months later we moved to Ohio for seminary and couldn't find housing that allowed pets. Ugh. Again – cart before the horse. Fast forward five more years. Our girls begged for a dog, but I stood firm in my miserable memories. No way. No more gut-wrenching, heart-rending dog deals. This time my diligent, contemplative husband overruled my party-pooper attitude and started aligning the cart BEHIND the horse. Our family spent a month researching the best breeds for house-dogs. For another month we prayed about it. Soon after, we received a phone call from a friend, saying she knew of a dog (the exact breed we wanted) who needed a good home. We spent another month adding a dog run with a doggy door to our home. It was excruciating to wait for that stinking cart to line-up behind the proverbial horse! But when we finally picked up our sheltie, Princess, she was the greatest dog we could have imagined. Sometimes the order of events makes all the difference between success and failure – and in Shechem's case – the difference between life and death.

Gen. 34:1-4 – "Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, 'Get me this girl as my wife.'"

• Shechem PUT HIS DESIRE BEFORE HONOR. Few people think of Shechem's love or tenderness toward Dinah. They think only of his violation of her. Since Shechem asked his father to get Dinah as his wife after he'd already taken her, the request lost some of its fervor. A desire fulfilled has no right to plead. Part of maintaining honor is maintaining desire.

Gen. 34:5-7 – ―When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home. Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter—a thing that should not be done." (emphasis added)

• These men PUT GOSSIP BEFORE THE HARD TRUTH. Poor Jacob heard about his daughter's defilement before Shechem or his father had the decency to tell him face-to-face. However, instead of sending someone to the fields to inform Dinah's brothers – to spare them from hearing tongues wag the same way he had – Jacob waited. Did he suspect they'd hear the shepherd's gossip? When a hard circumstance presents itself, it's far better to confront the matter than to allow gossip and assumption to sprout half-truths and rampant anger.

Gen. 34:8-10 – ―But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.'"

• Hamor PUT HIS PROMISE BEFORE OTHERS' PERMISSION. Granted, he was king, but later we see he had to get approval from the elders at the gate for circumcision. Did he really have the authority to promise marriage, trade and property to Jacob and his family without the Shechemites' consent? How many times have I volunteered my husband or kids for a task or duty without clearing it with them first. Once is too many times in their opinions!

Gen. 34:11-12 – "Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, 'Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife.'"

• Shechem TOOK POSSESSION BEFORE HE ASKED FOR OWNERSHIP. Asking for what he'd already taken was an insult to Jacob – especially when the stolen treasure was now defiled, as Jacob felt Dinah was. Shechem placed Jacob (and Dinah) in a no win situation – because no price can pay the debt of humiliation. It can be as simple as borrowing a shirt or cup of sugar without asking. The point is – respect dictates permission before we take.

Lord, I think in each of these "cart before the horse" cases, respect would have saved the day. Hamor's respect for Dinah, various individuals' respect after a grievous act, a king's respect for his subjects, an interloper's respect for a father's heart. Too often I get caught up in ME and MY MOMENT, and it blinds me to the responsibility I have to put someone else's horse before my cart. Teach me not only to do right things but also to do them in the right way and right order – in ways that bring You glory and represent You well on this earth.

TEACHING AN OLD DOG…

I used to be pretty hard on those old fogeys that hated change. Now that I'm one of them, I think us old fogeys are brilliant, and change is over-rated. Perhaps I don't quite qualify for old fogey status yet, but I have noticed that change is becoming more difficult. I like what I like. Why? Because I like it. It's taken me over four decades to arrive at the me I am, so don't mess with the masterpiece! Well, the masterpiece of 'me' is more like a finger-painting on a paper plate, so I suppose a little change wouldn't be a bad idea. And let's face it. We all MUST change – whether we like it or not. Check out a picture of yourself ten years ago. 'Nuf said.

We recently enjoyed a visit with a high school friend and her husband. This friend was very quiet when we were in school, while Roy and I were quite out-going. Della was a timid girl but very cute. She was a part of the dance team in high school; however, she seldom interacted much in social circles. Roy was the typical star athlete – football quarterback, basketball scoring guard and ornery to the core. I was active in lots of clubs and activities and joined the dance team my senior year. Della and I grew to be good friends our freshman year of college, when we were roommates at the University of Dayton, but we lost touch after she was a bridesmaid in our wedding.

After twenty years, Della found me on the internet in 2005, and we've kept in touch since. During our recent visit, we talked about how each of us has changed. She's now the effervescent, bubbly, life of the party; while Roy and I would rather sit in a corner at a party. Life changes us. Age changes us. God changes us…

Gen. 33:1-3 – "Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother." (emphasis added)

• The number seven is oftentimes used as a symbol of completeness in Scripture. Jacob bows seven times to signify his complete submission to Esau after all these years. Parading his wives showed his complete vulnerability, and the extravagant offerings of gifts displayed his complete commitment to repentance. Humble, vulnerable, repentant – this seemed to be a different Jacob than the man who stole Esau's blessing from their blind father twenty years ago. But would time prove the changes that fear began?

Gen. 33:4-7 – "But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. 'Who are these with you?' he asked. Jacob answered, 'They are the children God has graciously given your servant.' Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down." (emphasis added)

• Not only did we see big changes in Jacob, but now Esau shows some MAJOR softening during the past twenty years. He ran to Jacob, welcoming him with hugs, kisses and tears – a far cry from threatening to kill Jacob, which was the reason Jacob fled to Uncle Laban in Haran. Can people really change so drastically in twenty years? Did Jacob gauge Esau's honesty according to his own? We must walk a fine line between shrewdness and cynicism as we are exposed to more disappointment in our lives.

Gen. 33:8-11 - "Esau asked, 'What do you mean by all these droves I met?'
'To find favor in your eyes, my lord,' he said.
But Esau said, 'I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.'
'No, please!' said Jacob. 'If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.'
And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it." (emphasis added)

• Jacob says seeing Esau's face is like Peniel – the face of God. He's remembering his wrestling match as he stands in the safety of his brother's presence and God's shadow. This, too, is a change in Jacob – to praise God's presence and power in the midst of the circumstance – not taking credit himself or ascribing success to an old wives' tale (as he did with the striped wood shavings in the water troughs).

Gen. 33:12-17 – "Then Esau said, 'Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you.'
But Jacob said to him, 'My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.'
Esau said, 'Then let me leave some of my men with you.'
'But why do that?' Jacob asked. 'Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.'
So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth." (emphasis added)

• Jacob said he planned to go to Seir, but the excuses he offered Esau and the shelters he built in Succoth testify against his empty promises. If Jacob intended to follow God's command, he had to go to Canaan, not Seir; but how could he tell his brother Esau (and the army of 400 men) that he wasn't going to Seir? Well, it's called trusting God to work out the plan He has ordained for your life… But Jacob, the deceiver, had evidently NOT changed as much as his groveling, gifts and gushing might have suggested.

Gen. 33:18-20 – "After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel."

• Though Jacob lied to his brother, he has obeyed God and arrived in the land of Canaan, purchasing the first of his inheritance. Displaying some positive change, Jacob builds yet another altar and reveals a little of his heart in its name – El Elohe Israel – "Mighty is the God of Israel" or "Mighty is the God of he who struggles with God." I love the name of this altar because it depicts so well Jacob's inner battle.

Lord, I, too, struggle with You – but I'm so thankful You're MIGHTIER than my struggles! No matter how many times I stumble back into old habits or sins, Your mighty arms lift me up and drag me back to repentance. I praise You, Mighty God, for the struggles of life because they're forming me into Your image. Life is change, and You are the only thing in my life that will never change.

A LONG NIGHT

What do you do when you can't sleep? Count sheep? Drink warm milk or a glass of wine? I take an Ambien, and I'm out in thirty minutes. But my husband lays awake and thinks – and he's had some of his greatest revelations during those long nights. When we were looking for a house in Washington, we'd decided to offer on a certain place because we thought its driveway was large enough to park my father-in-law's RV. The night before submitting our offer, Roy couldn't sleep. He rehearsed the fifty houses we had visited during the week, and something about this house didn't feel right. He got up while it was still dark, took his tape-measurer, drove to the location and re-measured the driveway. Sure enough, we'd forgotten to include a crucial part of the measurement. We offered on our current home instead and have been thrilled with the decision. It would require more than my fingers and toes to count the times my husband has wrestled with a difficult issue during the night and arrived at a brilliant solution! Perhaps it's his competitive nature that compels him to fight through the exhaustion and find resolution. I simply get frustrated and reach for the sleeping aid! Not so with the determined man in my life. Not so with Jacob…

Gen. 32:22-24 – “That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” (emphasis added)

• “…Jacob got up…” would seem to imply that Jacob rousted his family out of bed to send them across the river. Why? Knowing his brother Esau was already on his way to meet him with 400 men, Jacob placed his wife, kids and possessions as a buffer between them. I think there is a line between fear and cowardice…and Jacob crossed it. Fear often reveals the deeper character, hidden by a master of deception.
  

Gen. 32:25-26 – “When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, 'Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.‟ But he said, „I will not let you go unless you bless me.'”

• Many of us are quite capable of making good decisions and conceiving viable life plans. We are strong mentally, physically and/or emotionally and feel as though we handle life extremely well without a Savior. God must occasionally cripple our strong area in order to reveal His power in our weakness. Because our Heavenly Father knows each one of His children intimately well, He knows where, when and to what degree to “touch” each one in order to test and refine us. Our job is to keep wrestling until the blessing comes - not begrudging God the methods of blessing.

Gen. 32:27-29 – “The man asked him, 'What is your name?'
'Jacob,' he answered.
Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.'
Jacob said, 'Please tell me your name.'
But he replied, 'Why do you ask my name?' Then he blessed him there.” (emphasis added)

• I love God's questions in Scripture! He never asks because He needs information. He asks because He wants the person being questioned to THINK! In the ancient Middle East, a person's name embodied that individual's character. So, when God asked Jacob his name and Jacob said – “Yaakov” (deceiver, one who “grasps the heel”) – Jacob confessed a lifetime of deception. But here's the precious part. God renamed him “struggles with God” – not just because Jacob and his descendants would forever struggle with Him – but because Jacob had struggled and OVERCOME God. One commentator observed, “When you battle with God, you only win by losing and by not giving up until you know you have lost. This is how Jacob prevailed.”

Gen. 32:30-32 – “So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.' The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.” (emphasis added)

• We can learn two very important lessons from Jacob's wrestling match.

1. Wrestling with God can be a very LONG process – they began wrestling at night, but “the sun rose above him” by the time the match was over.
2. Both God's “touch” and His blessings can cause permanent change – Jewish tradition tells us that Jacob limped for the rest of his life.

Lord, fear drove Jacob to this wrestling match, but I wrestle with You for infinite reasons. Fear, control, doubt – or simply, ugly rebellion. Perhaps the secret to less wrestling and enduring blessing is to prevail over You by submitting to You sooner! Let it be so, Lord. Let it be so.

TWO CAMPS

Celebrating Christmas is always more fun when a family gets to watch little kids open gifts. Part of the fun is the unpredictability of their reactions to the gift! When Aunt Lulu giftwraps a hand-knitted purple sweater for little Johnny, his instinctive response is, “Eewww!” Every parent cowers, cringes, cries at the humiliation of a child's transparency. When little Johnny gets a little older, his manners improve; and this time he greets Aunt Lulu's 6-pack of tighty whitey underwear with a droning, “Thank you, Aunt Lulu,” before tossing the package aside and ravenously opening the next gift. Soon, little Johnny has created two piles on Christmas morning: the “Ho-hum, sit in my drawer untouched” pile and the “Woohoo, this is great stuff” pile. I tend to be like little Johnny with God's gifts. Unfortunately, when God piles on the gifts and blessings so regularly, my “Woohoo” factor goes down. It takes bigger and better things to warrant my “Woohoo” pile, and soon my “Ho-hum” pile is mounded with even His most gracious provisions. Jacob had a little “Woohoo” problem when he faced a potential problem…

Gen. 32:1-3 – [After God protected Jacob from Laban's wrath] “Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, 'This is the camp of God!' So he named that place Mahanaim. Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.”

• Jacob had just experienced God's miraculous rescue from his ticked-off father-in-law, and now he sees the supernatural manifestation of God's angels right before his eyes! Woohoo! So what does he do? He names a patch of ground, and then – ho-hum – proceeded with his own plan as though he'd never seen God's power available to him. In which of your piles rests the Cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit?

Gen. 32:4-5 – “[Jacob] instructed them: 'This is what you are to say to my master Esau: “Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.”'”

• Jacob tried to TALK his way out of trouble. Many of us believe if we can just TALK to or reason with someone, we can work things out. I've heard it said that if I spent as much time talking to God about a certain individual as I spent talking to that individual about God…we'd all be better off. Unfortunately, I seem to think my words are more effective in swaying a heart than my prayers…hmmm.

Gen. 32:6-8 – “When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, 'We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.' In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,(two camps) and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, 'If Esau comes and attacks one group,(two camps) the group that is left may escape.'”

• Jacob tried to THINK-STRATEGIZE-WORRY his way out of trouble. He used the same word, Mahanaim, to describe the camps he was dividing but didn't include God in either group! How many times do we think, plan and worry – without once including God in the strategy session?

Gen. 32:9-12 – “Then Jacob prayed, 'O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD , who said to me, “Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,” I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, “I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.”'”

• Jacob tried to PRAY his way out of trouble. So what's wrong with that? He even prays God's Words back to Him. That sounds like a great idea! Absolutely! But here's the problem. What happens AFTER the prayer? Did Jacob receive peace after the prayer that was accompanied by faith? Were Jacob's next words/actions those of a man trusting God with his future? Was Jacob's prayer a panicked plea from a desperate man or an urgent request from a confident covenant bearer? There is a difference.

Gen. 32:13-20 – “He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, 'Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.' He instructed the one in the lead: 'When my brother Esau meets you and asks, “To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?” then you are to say, “They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.”' He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: 'You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. And be sure to say, “Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.”' For he thought, 'I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.'”

• Jacob tried to BUY his way out of trouble. The last-ditch effort. If the talking, planing and praying didn't work, maybe bribery would speak his brother's language. Call it insurance…or call it doubt.

Gen. 32:21 – “So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.”

• Jacob was divided. He was in one camp, his peace offerings in another…Mahanaim…but no angels of God in either.

Lord, I want You in my undivided camp – You as my power Source. I don't want to spin and toil on my own, after giving You a simple nod and ceremonial thank-You. Let Your presence guide, conquer and bring peace to every circumstance I face. Amen.

GREAT NEW COOKBOOK

My precious friend, Marsha Baker, has published her first cookbook. Here's the way she was introduced to me a decade ago during one of my speaking events: This is Marsha...she's a good cook, but a BETTER BAKER! Well, Marsha "good cook, better" Baker certainly lives up to her name and shares some of her fabulous recipes in this first collection of family favorites.

These recipes (300 of them) are family-friendly, using ingredients most will have on hand.There are also many tips and tricks to help make life easier for you in the kitchen.

Appetizers....Pumpkin dip, BLT Cherry Tomato Bites

Soups and Salads...Baked Potato Soup, Cheesey Chicken Chowder, Pink Fluff Salad, Gooey Grapes

Vegetables and Side Dishes...Cottage Potatoes, Microwave Cauliflower and Cheese, Kraut 'n' Beans, Squash Custard

Main Dishes...Easy Bean Stew, Pizza Broiled Sandwiches, Chicken Enchiladas, Creamy Tacos, Chicken Squares

Bread and Rolls...Grainy Wheat Bread, Hawaiian Bread, Poppyseed Bread, Brazilian Puff, Upside Down Pineapple Biscuits, Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Desserts.... Austrian Cream Cheese Bars, Payday Bars, Cream Puff Cake, Butterscotch Apple Cake, Buster Bar Dessert

"Lighter Choices".....Pumpkin Spice Muffins, Chocolate Swirl Cake, Makeover Rhubarb Strawberry Crunch, and more!

Marsha's special touch permeates the collection through favorite personal and family childhood recollections. She also added recipe notes so she can be her usual 'chatty self'...and there are inspirational quotes, too.
(Like....'a single man is incomplete...once he's married, he's finished')

For more information on how to order "Recipes & Recollections," go to Marsha's blog @ http://www.thebetterbaker.blogspot.com and click on the cookbook icon. Happy cooking!

LETTING GO

Though you won't find this medical term on the illustration at left, I've been blessed with a good "forgetter." I can watch a movie and then watch it again six months later and be just as surprised by the ending. Fabulous. My family could give me the same birthday card each year, and I'd never know it. Hmmm, maybe they've already been doing that. I'll have to start keeping birthday cards in a drawer and checking them. Nope, that won't work. I'll forget where I keep them. A good forgetter is also handy when it comes to relationships. I tend to forgive rather easily. I don't hold grudges for long and it seems my pain from betrayal fades more quickly than others. Why? I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with this good forgetter. (Did I mention that already?) There has been in recent days, however, a painful relationship that became too big for my forgetter to forget. A root of bitterness grew without my awareness or permission and soon bloomed into an ugly weed that affected my other relationships. The Lord took me through a process of tearing down the weeds and living with truths my forgetter must now remember. Jacob endured a similar process of letting go…

Gen 31:38-42 – “[Jacob said to Laban,] 'I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.'”

• When we've been hurt deeply over time, the first step is to confront the one who offended us. Tell the person WHY we're angry, HOW their actions hurt you, WHEN it happened. Being specific about the pain forces us to examine our hearts and gives the offender concrete examples of their fault.

Gen. 31:43-45 – “Laban answered Jacob, 'The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? Come now, let's make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.' So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.”

• Did Jacob agree that the women, children and flocks belonged to Laban? Absolutely not. However, Jacob had argued and bargained with his father-in-law enough to know that he wasn't going to change his mind with more words. At some point we must agree to disagree.

Gen. 31:46-47 – “[Jacob] said to his relatives, 'Gather some stones.' So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.”

• These men couldn't even agree on which language to use in naming the altar! Laban used Aramaic and Jacob used Hebrew to name it, “witness heap.” However, Jacob called on his relatives as witnesses (no doubt his wives – Laban‟s daughters) to both support and hold accountable.

Gen. 31:48-50 – “Laban said, 'This heap is a witness between you and me today.' That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah, because he said, 'May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.'”

• The men recognized that God was watching and aware of the end of this long struggle between them. I believe it must have given them power, confidence and freedom to move forward, knowing the God of Creation witnessed the severing of the relationship.

Gen. 31:51-55 – “Laban also said to Jacob, 'Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.' So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there. Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.”

• Before the final good-bye, its helpful to agree on the terms of future relationship – when possible. Agree to boundaries, and agree to cause no more intentional pain. We often believe the lie that success in relationship is defined only by reconciliation. Not so. Sometimes God's greatest work happens in the heart of one who can walk away in peace – and let go.

Lord, redefine my image of success in relationship. I'm so bent on being a peacemaker that I often sacrifice honesty and bury my pain. Teach me the art of ending a relationship well – to say what should be said and create boundaries that promote lasting peace – within and without.

IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT

Have you ever wondered how you would respond in an emergency? Maybe you've already been tested in some way, put through the ringer when pressures were high. I often think of stories like Anne Frank and Corrie ten Boom, kept hidden from Nazis by those who were willing – and able – to calmly lie when tensions soared. But my greatest fear is this. Can I tell the truth when tensions are high? So far, I've noticed my first instinct is to lie. Ugh. A telemarketer calls, and asks if I have a moment to talk. I say, “No, I'm getting ready to walk out the door.” Does it matter that my appointment isn't for 2 hours? Okay, that's not an emergency, but my first inclination is still to lie. How about this…my husband was checking the water valve connection behind the refrigerator. He asked me to help him slide the frig. back into place, but first, he needed to check that the water hose wasn't kinked. He bent down, and I pushed ever-so-slightly against the frig. to see how heavy it was. The stupid thing moved, and Roy jerked his hand away from the wheels.

“Are you moving the refrigerator?” he yelled. “My hand was back there!”

My immediate answer? “No! Of course, not!”

Okay, think about it. How else did the frig. move? We're the only two people in the stinkin' house! Duh. But I barely touched it, and I didn't know it was on wheels, and it moved less than ¼ inch…but still…I moved it. Ugh. So I had to back-pedal. “Well, yes, actually, I, um, well…” So how do you respond in the heat of the moment?

Gen. 31:22-24 – “On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.'”

• Jacob with 4 wives and 11 of his own children (not counting servants and their children) covered 300 miles in 10 days. No McDonalds. No Holiday Inns. Tents, campfires, camels, herds and flocks. And it took Laban 7 days to catch them – 7 days of rage building. In the heat of the moment, God stepped in before Laban could harm His chosen Covenant-bearer. Many commentators believe God's direction to “not say anything to Jacob, good or bad” meant that Laban shouldn't try to persuade Jacob to return to Haran using bribery or threats. The important thing is – God isn't limited to speak only to those who serve Him. He can protect His children even from those who don't recognize God as the True God.

Gen. 31:25-30 – “Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. Then Laban said to Jacob, 'What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war. Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?'” (emphasis added)

• Even in the heat of the moment, Laban mixes truth with lies – because deception is mired so deeply into his character. Imagine the highly charged emotions of this scene. Imagine the fear in Jacob and his wives/children. Imagine the anger/frustration in Laban at being duped and then kept from vengeance by a God not even his own. And finally, imagine that the only gods you think you can rely on have just been stolen by the one person who has taken everything else you value.

Gen. 31:31-32 – “Jacob answered Laban, 'I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. But if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.' Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.”

• Jacob was painfully honest in the heat of this moment. Fear was his motivation for their stealth departure. And in his moment of righteousness, he makes a rash promise based in pride…and it could have gotten his most beloved wife killed.

Gen. 31:33-35 – “So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah's tent, he entered Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, 'Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period.' So he searched but could not find the household gods.”

• In the heat of the moment, Rachel panicked and lied. Her life depended on it, and she'd seen the deceptive game her father and husband had played for twenty years. Why wouldn't she lie? But does the prevalence of deceit make deceit acceptable?

Gen. 31:36-37 – “Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. 'What is my crime?' he asked Laban. 'What sin have I committed that you hunt me down? Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us.'”

• Okay, Jake. A little over-the-top on the self-righteousness? Aren't you the one that swindled your hungry brother out of his birthright? Aren't you the one that deceived your blind, old dad? And BTW, if Rachel hadn't lied, you'd be digging her grave about now. No matter how righteous we seem to ourselves or others, we are never pure enough to tout our own holiness – not when we serve the Servant Savior, the Almighty God of grace.

Lord, my heart, my head and my tongue can run away with me in the heat of the moment. I can say, think, feel and do all sorts of things I'll later regret. Please, Prince of Peace, give me the trueness of spirit to act and react with a steadfastness born of a life lived in Your presence.